almost 2011

It is almost 2011. I could take this time to reflect on the year.
But I think I'll do that later.

Today is my first day off in 9 days. Soon all that over
working will be done. We will be into a new year.
And I will hopefully be putting some stuff up to sell on Etsy.
I'll let you know if it works out.

I didn't get many gifts made this year.
In fact tomorrow is going to be cookie and treat making day.

But soon things will slow down and I'll have all the time in the world.

So, for now I'm happy to have my job, my friends and my family all in good (to decent) shape this year.

See you all in 2011.

Its that time again

Its that time when food and family are all we really talk about around here.
And really that's ok.

This last ThanksGiving was one of our best.
Lots of food was made the nights before so as to not be stressed.


Food like these pumpkin cookies from RealSimple.
They were a big hit. And the fact that they can be made way ahead of time is a great thing.

The turkey, however, does have to be made the day of.
I didn't have to get up super early though. Just a regular 7am rise and shine toss the bird in the oven.

It turned out pretty well. The meat really just fell of the bones.

After eating a few friends left and a few friends arrived.
Then it was a zombie marathon night.
We were getting caught up on AMC's the Walking Dead.
Its more of a how humans survive than a gore fest show.
But there still are some pretty unpleasant scenes.

Though its hard to pay to much attention to even zombies when you are knitting colorwork.

Here's to having a great or calm or both, holiday season.

we've got snow

This year I'm breaking down and buying a Snow Blower. Though picking out just the right one seems tricky. There are a lot of things to think about, not the least of which being price.

We tried to go to the store today and get one, but they were all picked over and they didn't have a tone on display.
We've figured out that we want at least a 20in and that maybe a 2 stage blower is the way to go. I found some helpful info at Howstuffworks.com

Now i'm going to g bake some brownies to warm up with. :)

if it where...

If it were just little old me and my kitty, I think I might want to live in a place like this.
Sometimes after taking care of this house (which i love) it just feels like too much. There isn't much for yarn storage in there, but I bet I could find a space for it.

Have you ever thought of going super small for your living space?

trying something new

That would be quilting.
Last night I got the main body of the quilt together. It is mostly pieces from a kit of sorts and my own stashed bee hive fabric. I wasn't a fan of one of the squares that came with the "kit"

It has been fun working on this new crafting muscle.
I think there might be a few more in my future.
Though maybe a little less regimented looking.

But this should be a winner with what ever baby it ends up going to.
The wee baby Grimlock already likes it.

Ladies Weekend...

Now with TATTOOS.
This last weekend was the annual HT-Family Ladies Weekend.
I always have a lot of fun with the gals. I get to photograph, wander around, eat good food and buy silly things.
Like the above tattoo. When I make a joke I really commit to it.

I also found a lovely fiber store The Yarn Barn. They have looms, spinning wheels, yarn and fiber a plenty. I think I spent a good hour in there just looking around. That and they were also right next to the Tattoo shop.

The town also had a great fabric store. It gave me lots of great ideas for projects. I could have spent a lot of time in there too.

It was a great weekend and I'll post some more of the fun picks later.
It is definitely nice to have such great gals in my life.

Aunti M...

I will soon be called "Auntie M". My sister is going to be having a little one.
(not the little one in the picture, this is HT's Second Cousin)

At first I was a little wiered out by this. Also I was having a major downward turn. But now, I'm looking forward to lavishing knits on the little one.

Things like this Baby Sophisticate cardie. It is cute and gender neutral.

The Saartje Booties will have to be made again. Though I will have to try knitting them in DK weight yarn. They might just last a little longer that way.

After seeing MammaGrouch's Swing Thing, I might just have to make one for the little 'un.
(ravelry link, remember you to can find way to many patterns and ideas with what to make your stash into, join today.)

And when the kid gets a little older or odder, a Kiddie Cadet had.
That way s/he can dress like cool Auntie M.

links for your pleasure

It would seem that Sept or Oct are quiet months here on the blog.
This time it's because the depression and anxiety is making itself comfy in my head.

So, in an attempt to dislodge it, I though I would make a post of things I like.

Miss MadeByGirl's string pendant light is something I'm totally going to do for my stairway to the bedroom light fixture

I want to start making quilts one of these days. So, I might have to try this one from TwoLittleBanshees.

When I finally get my angora bunny I will have to make it a home like this one from Design*Sponge

I think this old school bottle opener would be perfect for HT now that he is brewing beer.

And finally something snuggly to leave you with. A post from Modish all about pretty french kitties.

Wednesday picturday

Siren taking a snooze in the sun.
Every morning lately we have been waking up with kitties in the bed.
They make it just a little hard to get up and go to work.

The sunflowers are holding up even after the rains.
They also lend themselves to lightroom play.

Did I show you this?
It is most of my stash (no not all of it) laid out on the queen-sized guest bed. I think that might be the best way to store it.

The mowhawk is still there. It is just being tamed on some mornings by a head band. I also look rather tiered there.

This is what some of my art work looks like. It was shot a while ago on my little Rollie. I've actually started to feel the need to get my camera out and create again. Sometimes you just need a break from things to help you see where you want to go, or what you want to do with them.

The goings on.... in pictures

State Fair, with giant knitted fish hat.
you know you want one.

New hair in the shape of a curly mowhawk.
Not sure how long it will stick around

More tomatoes than you can shake a stick at.
Believe me i can shake a pretty mean stick.

Crafts other than knitting.
Sewing and making of sewing stuff storage to be exact.

52 bottles of home brewed Cream Ale.
To be ready in 2 weeks.

Vacation & Fashion

I find that I am becoming more and more interested in fashion.
The nice thing about that is that it allows me to visit many fun shops with vintage and vintage inspired clothing.

This is Donna's Dress Shop.
They had a nice vintage selection and some lovely small designer dresses.
I got 2 things here that you will see a bit later.

Lisa, my KC pal, also took me to Bon Bon atelier.
It felt like home.
There were artist made items, fabric, books and the shop-keep was knitting a sock.

In case you were wondering what the pink/purple thing on the ceiling is... its a roving ball of yarn with giant knitting needles. I love the wallpaper that is on the coved ceiling too.
I got the Craft.inc work book from here and one other thing I can't tell you about.
It is a house warming gift for one of my friends.

This is the vintage inspired dress that I got from Donna's. It's all one piece and I really love the pencil skirt.

Now this top is a true vintage find. It fits really well every where but the arms. So I'm going to have to take them out a little bit. There is also one other problem. I want to wear this with a cute brown or black skirt. But I don't have one that I like with it.

But I think this pattern from CraftyPlanet should solve that.
I'll have to let you all know how my adventures in sewing go.

So that's my vacation. I wish it was longer and shorter all at the same time.
It was great getting to see everyone and be away from the house, but boy where there things that I would have like to work on here.

The grass is always greener right :)

Vacation = shopping?

When I go on vacation there are a few things that happen.
There is shopping, but not just any shopping.
Only things that you can't find in your home town are aloud to be purchased.

So when it comes to fiber... you have to go looking for LYSs.

This shop is Urban Arts and Crafts.
It was very cute and well put together. They had a bit of everything. It took me a while to find the yarn under all of it. Though they did have twice as much yarn as the other craft items.

I also found a cat there.
Her name was Annie. She had a little note on her basket that warned children to leaver her be. But I got to pat her on the head.

This shop, Florilegium,was the exact opposite of the modern every craft store.
I loved the wall of yarn jars. I might just have to display some of my yarn that way.

They also had tons of ribbons, beads and edging. I kinda wanted to steal the stained glass windows they had in hanging and leaning against their windows.

I haven't knit with any of the souvenir yarn yet.

I did get a lot of knitting done even with a 5year old wanting a lot of attention.

There was knitting by the pool...

I even got to knit in the car on the ride home.

I'm working now on my second sock. Its the Skew from Knitty.
I was skeptical at first. The sock starts to vear away from the toe very quickly. But it all worked out in the end. Sometimes trusting the pattern is the right thing to do.
Though I didn't switch down to smaller needles like it wanted me to for the ribbing. I was worried that the already snug sock wouldn't get over my heel if the top ribbing got to small.

It was a good thing I just stuck with my 1s. The left sock fits perfectly.

(to be continued....)

July is for Tour de Fleece.

Pretty much all of my free time this July has been spent spinning.
The tour really helped me get my chain plying down.
I also got through all the sample fiber from my PhatFiber boxes.

I really love how these 2 are both green, but decidedly different.

They were very nice to spin with too.

This is some of the main stuff I spun.
The lovely Peach Tree by Natchwoolie.
It's pretty even and doesn't try to twist back on itself a whole bunch.

These little guys are some of the last samples that were spun.
I'm in love the the gale's art one. It has a slippery texture.
The rose and browns of it are just too fun a combination of colors.

This mass that looks a bit like my childhood hair, is also from Natchwoolie.
It is camel and silk. Originally it was going to be lace weight, but the chain plying was going so well, that now it's more dk weight.

One of these days I'm going to have to get a wpi (wraps per inch) counter and start making notes. Until then I guess i'll just keep winging it.

This lovely bit of yarn is a nice 2ply. It is from Spindipity's shop and it was made for the June box for the PhatFiber group. It's called Puck.

As a former Puck (renamed Bip for our High Schools version) I had to have it. It will probably knit up into a nice cowl. Something to keep mischief close to mind ;)

I'm going to have to make a point to write more often.
After my little vacation that is.

quick garden update

Because I know you are all on the edge of your seats waiting to hear how the garden is going, I'm going to grant your wish.

It's going rather well.
There are a few things I have learned for next year.
One of which being, do not plant so many tomatoes next to each other.

As you can see here, they have gone a bit wild.
They are even fighting with the Raspberry bushes.
They should both just really learn to stay of the paths and out of each others way.

The yellow beans that I saved from last year are coming along well.
I'm kind of surprised because I really didn't do anything special to keep them. I just put them in a jar out of the light.

Some of the Peppers are doing well. the little heirloom ones aren't though.
I'm going to transplant them to the spot where the Radishes where.
The yellow ones seen here aren't being shaded out by the zucchini, yet.

This is a Tomatillo. We got it from the East Side Co-Op plant sale. HT wanted to try them as that Bobby Flay guy is always using them.
They kind of look the the paper lantern plant.

And soon my friends, we will have more peas then we know what to do with. I'm going to have to learn how to can peas I think.
I love the way the vines look. So delicate yet so strong.

So that's all for the garden. If anyone wants any mustard greens, swiss char, or lettuces we've got tons to share.

... 2-3-4 ...

The Tour is going well.
I have spun each day. Some days for quiet a bit. Other days for just a little while.

Here is a short recap (as Blogger doesn't like my photos) of days 2-4.

Here we have day 2. Nearish to the end of the day. I got a bit of spinning done while watching the Hangover with HT and Unger. Pretty funny movie really.

Day 3 pretty much looks the same, it's a little more full though.

Here is day 4. I took the wheel to work so that I could take it with me to knit night. Then my Ass. Manager wanted to grab a drink after work so I took it with to the bar. No since in walking all the way to the car and then back to the bar.

Turns out that an Iki spinning while drinking a Nordeast isn't something that regularly happens at the bar next to work. We got quiet the crowd. They wanted to see how it worked to I did a short bit.
Made that AM take a picture just for you all ;)

After the drunks had stopped talking to us it was time to go to knit night. The folks at the Blue Moon are used to us knitters with our loud talk and weird contraptions. So the wheel and I didn't make much of a scene there.

Though as you can see. I did get a lot done. Tomorrow after all the meetings and car things are done I might just finish up the Natchwoolie Peach Tree. Though I do have the front and back of some sleeves to knit.

That's right, "front and back" of sleeves. I really wonder what these UK designers are thinking some times. But I'll go with it.

A long week and a Tour

It has been a rather long week.
I've been at the shop each day. And then i've been working on this when I get home.

What is it you ask?
It is the old kitchen cupboards (taken down and saved by the former owners) that I, with the help of my friend Unger, am turning into an Armour. It might also serve as on of the "leg"s for a new craft/computer desk.

I have also been stopping by the new coffee shop here in my little nordeast neighborhood. They really made the place bright and clean (the old one was getting dingy). The coffee is good, the food is good, you should go there so that they can be sure to stick around.

I have also been spending the first few days of my weeks stopping into local liquor stores to see if they have any Nordeast available. Sadly the only place I can seem to find it is at the restaurants. But hey, we had a great meal tonight.

As for the tour part of our title, well i'm trying to participate in the Tour de Fleece this year. I didn't have a lot of time today to spin, but I did make a nice chain-ply bit of yarn. It is even semi-consistent. In the above pictures you can see the 3 stages the fiber went through.

I think I might even be bringing the wheel to knit night this week.